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Listening Is an Act of Love

If you listen to NPR on Friday mornings, you may be familiar with the interviews from David Isay’s StoryCorps Project. Shortly after 9/11, David Isay decided he wanted to record an oral history of America. Not just any history, mind you, he set out to capture the lives of everyday Americans --- your average John & Jane Doe, not the elite upper-crust celebrities that traditionally dominate the media. He set up a recording booth in Grand Central Station in New York City where family members and friends can record interviews with each other. It became so popular that now there is a traveling recording booth as well that makes stops in cities all around the USA. Copies of the interviews are given to the participants and also archived in the Library of Congress. In short, the StoryCorps project is archiving the incredible oral history of the people who make up our great nation.

Listening Is an Act of Love contains excerpts from some of these interviews. You will find tales of senior citizens recounting what it was like to grow-up in the “old days” and a son reunited with his birth mother. There are stories from survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the attacks on the World Trade Center. You will also hear from people who have first-hand experienced prejudice or severe illness and the profound effects this had on them. Simply put, this is a human interest story that places you in the shoes of those who have walked before us, or have taken a different path. It is amazing, touching, sad and heart-warming all at once. This is truly a book for everyone.